Abstracts » Zoology and wildlife conservation

The origin of maize branches out

Article Abstract:

The cloning of the teosinte branched1 gene involved in the evolution of maize could provide evolutionary biologists with the solution to the origins of cultivated maize. The argument that wild maize, teosinte, is an ancestor of cultivated maize is strengthened by the new findings. The teosinte branched1 gene appears to control apical dominance, one of the main differences between the two families, and also helps with ear formation. It appears that tb1 is crucial to the conversion of teosinte to maize.

Corn, Plant biotechnology

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Yeast branches out

Article Abstract:

Recent research has confirmed the view that single-celled yeast have many functional, evolutionary and physiological affinities with the other fungi. For instance, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces strings of elongated cells much like the hyphae of filamentous fungi, indicating a close morphological relationship. Moreover, the more highly developed fungi such as the plant pathogen Ustilago maydis have proteins controlling their life cycles that resemble the proteins of yeasts.

Physiological aspects, Yeast fungi, Yeasts (Fungi), Mycology

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Oligopeptide-repeat expansions modulate 'protein-only' inheritance in yeast

Article Abstract:

The Sup35 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a subunit of the eurkaryotic release factor and most of it is sequestered into higher-order proteins in cells, and is unavailable to act in translation termination. The significance of oligopeptide repeats was investigated by replacing the wild-type Sup35 gene with a repeat-expansion mutation. This induced new yeast (PSI+) elements, giving an insight into the nature changes underlying protein-based mechanisms of inheritance.

Oligopeptides, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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